Casto v. LehrCasto v. Lehr
Hon. William B. Hoffman, P.J.
Hon. John W. Wise, J.
Hon. Patricia A. Delaney, J.
| DEBRA A. CASTO | : | JUDGES: |
| Petitioner-Appellee | : | Hon. William B. Hoffman, P.J. |
| -vs- | : | Hon. John W. Wise, J. |
| MICHAEL P. LEHR | : | Hon. Patricia A. Delaney, J. |
| Respondent-Appellant | : | Case No. 2020 AP 02 0002 |
| : | O P I N I O N |
CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING: Appeal from the Tuscarawas County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 2019 VI 11 0457
JUDGMENT: DISMISSED
DATE OF JUDGMENT ENTRY: July 17, 2020
APPEARANCES:
| For Petitioner-Appellee: | For Respondent-Appellant: |
| MICHAEL C. JOHNSON 117 South Broadway P.O. Box 1007 New Philadelphia, OH 44663 | RONALD L. COLLINS 9302 Lakewood Dr. NE Mineral City, OH 44656 |
{¶1} Respondent-Appellant Michael P. Lehr appeals the January 17, 2020 Domestic Violence Civil Protection Order granted by the Tuscarawas County Court of Common Pleas.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
{¶2} On November 13, 2019 at 1:43 a.m., officers with the Dover Police Department responded to a 911 call made by Respondent-Appellant Michael P. Lehr. Lehr stated that his girlfriend, Petitioner-Appellee Debra A. Casto, had stabbed him with a needle and had attempted to stab him with a butcher‘s knife.
{¶3} When the officers arrived at Lehr‘s home, they found Lehr laying on the ground in front of the house, hysterically crying. It was 14 degrees outside and Lehr was only wearing a pair of shorts. The officers put Lehr in the police car and called an ambulance to transport him to the hospital. Lehr told the officers that Castro had previously threatened to kill him with his insulin. The officers entered the home to find the perpetrator and discovered Casto asleep in an attic bedroom. The officers woke her up and explained why they were in the home. Casto denied harming or attempting to harm Lehr.
{¶4} After finding Casto, the officers investigated the rest of the home. Casto‘s bedroom was in the attic and Lehr‘s bedroom was on the second floor. In Lehr‘s bedroom, the officers discovered a large butcher‘s knife plunged sideways about three or four inches into the mattress pad of the bed. The officers observed the room did not appear to be disturbed or showed evidence that a confrontation had recently taken place. The officers did not see a syringe in the bedroom.
{¶6} Based on the investigation, the Dover Police Department charged Lehr with falsification and disorderly conduct.
{¶7} On November 14, 2019, Casto filed a petition for a domestic violence civil protection order (“DVCPO“) with the Tuscarawas County Court of Common Pleas. In her petition, Casto stated that she ended her romantic relationship with Lehr in August 2019, but they continued to reside together in the home they jointly-owned. She alleged during the relationship Lehr was verbally abusive. During arguments he would poke her in the chest. She found photographs in the home where Lehr had cut himself out of the photograph. After the alleged stabbing incident, Casto was afraid for her safety. The ex parte DVCPO was granted on November 14, 2019.
{¶8} After multiple continuances, the full hearing was held before the magistrate on January 14, 2020. The Dover Police Department officers present at the November 13, 2019 incident testified at the hearing. Casto testified she ended the relationship in August 2019 but Lehr wanted to reconcile. He told people that he and Lehr were married, which was not true. In November 2019, Casto said that Lehr came to her place of employment to deliver a package to her. He confronted her about their relationship, raising his voice which caused her to be afraid for her safety. Casto filed the DVCPO because she was afraid of him after the November 13, 2019 incident. She stated that if he could stab a bed
{¶9} Lehr testified at the hearing that on November 13, 2019, he was sleeping in bed with his dog and he woke up to the feeling of a sharp pain in his right side. He rolled over and saw Casto standing over him with a knife in her hand. Lehr rolled off the side of the bed and he heard Casto walk upstairs to the attic. He called 911 and ran out of the house because he thought Casto would come back with a gun. Lehr denied ever being violent towards Casto.
{¶10} On January 17, 2020, the order of protection was filed, granting a three-year DVCPO against Lehr. The order of protection was signed by the magistrate. The trial court also signed the order of protection, stating it had reviewed the order and found no error of law or defect evident on the face of the order, thereby adopting the order.
{¶11} Lehr did not file objections to the trial court‘s adoption of the magistrate‘s decision granting the DVCPO pursuant to
ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
{¶12} Lehr raises three Assignments of Error:
{¶13} “I. NEITHER THE PETITION, AS REQUIRED BY
{¶14} “II. THE RULING OF THE COURT ISSUING A CIVIL PROTECTION ORDER IS AGAINST THE WEIGHT AND SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE.
ANALYSIS
{¶16} Before we address Lehr‘s three Assignments of Error, we must consider whether this matter is properly before the Court.
{¶17} The trial court granted Casto a DVCPO pursuant to
{¶18} “A party may file written objections to a court‘s adoption, modification, or rejection of a magistrate‘s denial or granting of a protection order after a full hearing, or any terms of such an order, within fourteen days of the court‘s filing of the order.”
{¶19} This Court has previously relied on the authority of the Second, Third, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth appellate districts whom have addressed
{¶20} Here, the record shows that Lehr failed to file timely objections to the trial court‘s adoption of the magistrate‘s decision granting the DVCPO.
{¶21} We hold that without timely filed objections under
{¶22} The appeal of the January 17, 2020 DVCPO issued by the Tuscarawas County Court of Common Pleas is dismissed.
By: Delaney, J.,
Hoffman, P.J. and
Wise, John, J., concur.